New Members Join NIDA's Expanded National Advisory Board

Twelve new members have joined NIDA's National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, which provides overall scientific and policy direction to NIDA. The Council meets three times a year to oversee the Institute's programs and to provide the second and final level of review for grant applications.

In 1995, NIH Director Dr. Harold Varmus approved a NIDA proposal to amend the Council's charter to increase the size of the Council from 12 to 18 members. The number of experts in health and scientific disciplines related to drug abuse was increased from 9 to 12. The number of public members who are experts in public policy, law, health policy, economics, and management was increased from 3 to 6. The Council retained 5 nonvoting ex officio members: the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Veterans Affairs Chief Medical Officer, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, or their designated representatives, and the NIDA Director, who serves as chair of the Council. (For more information, see Expanded National Advisory Council Steers NIDA in New Directions,"NIDA NOTES, January/February 1996)

To replace members who retired in 1994 and 1995 and bring the expanded Council's membership up to its full roster, NIDA recommended 12 people who have been approved for appointment by HHS Secretary Dr. Donna Shalala. The new members, who include one reappointment, are: